Gern's 1/24 P47

[flyjoe180]

You had me interested Dave so I looked online and found there is indeed an open gap ahead of the instrument panel. I guess this made it easy to access the various instruments for servicing and aid cooling of the electrics. Of course the various instruments would actually poke out the back, if you have seen particularly older ones they are very large and heavy items. There would also be wiring back there as you suggest.

Check this series of photos:

[Gern]

Thanks for those pics Joe. Looks like I gotta drill out the instrument backs and add some wiring! I'll have to see if I can't scratch up some supports on the sides too.

[Gern]

OK. I drilled out the instruments and added some bits of wire that I got from some multi-core cable. You can't see much of them, but you can see them so I'm glad I made the effort.

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I finished gluing down the fuselage tops - which straightened out quite nicely - behind the cockpit and filled along the bottom edges. I'll fill the ends when I put the fuselage halves together as that will save some sanding work. The fuselage halves are not fixed yet but with care it looks like I won't need to do any filling.

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I'm still undecided on what to add to this. Did the RAF ever use the 'slipper' tank which goes under the fuselage? I'm also stuck deciding whether to add bombs or fuel tanks under the wings. There is a problem with how they've drilled the holes for attaching the bombs though ....

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Not a difficult fix, but a bit of poor design which this kit shouldn't have.

[stona]

I'm not a P-47 expert, but as far as I know the flattened underbelly tanks were not used by the RAF. I read somewhere that they definitely weren't used in SEAC, not so sure about elsewhere.

Cheers

Steve

[Gern]

Thanks for the info Steve, but I was kinda hoping nobody would confirm that! I've seen loads of pics of P47S, mostly American of course but a lot of British too, and not one of them shows those tanks on a British 'plane.

That means there's two b****y great slots on the bottom of the fuse that I've gotta fill .....

[Gern]

I sold on all of my old Airfix 1/24 aircraft because of the issues involved dealing with old moulds - flash, warping etc. I'm beginning to wish I'd sold this thing on too!

There are no positive location points on the airframe for either the inlet or exhaust pipes that come from the cylinders - only a small pin and locating hole at the cylinder end so assembly of the engine is going to be fiddly to say the least. While I was pondering how to sort this out, I thought I'd have a look at the undercarriage.

There are no location points for the doors on the tailwheel assembly other than the link arms that pull them shut when the gear retracts - only some tabs on the doors themselves which locate inside the fuselage. But you need to attach them to the tailwheel mounting before adding the assembly to the airframe because there are no location points on the fuselage for the tailwheel assembly itself!

That's after you've fixed the ejector pin marks inside the doors of course. I cut some thin card to the right shape and size and fixed it in the recesses rather than fiddling about filling and sanding.

The main gear legs have a pivot rod which slots into a u-shaped mounting block on the wing. This is the BEST fit I have been able to get so far without starting any modifications:

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The whole mounting block in the wing is turned through 15 - 20 degrees so the wheels don't face forward and the base of the u/c leg catches on the mounting block when the leg is only at about 70 degrees.

There's a support strut to be added somewhere too, although the diagrams only show how it attaches to the u/c leg - no indication whatsoever of where the other end goes!

I've looked at some white metal replacement parts, but the problem is the mounting block in the wing itself so they wouldn't help. I could add bits to the existing mounting or remove it and build another but both are big jobs and very tricky as there's very little room to work between the u/c bay walls.

Maybe I could do a 'wheels-up version - use the pilot supplied, scrap the seatbelts and repaint the seat, then I could make a stand to fit the huge slots in the bottom of the fuselage which hold the slipper tank which I can't use ......

I already know I'm going to do the flaps closed because there's so much work involved correcting the actuators ....

.... and it looked so good in the box!

.... and why am I having to wait while my 'puter tries to keep up with my one-finger typing?

Bedtime methinks!

[yak face]

Looks like a bit of very poor design , for the price you expect a bit better . The only thing I can suggest Dave is to thin the pivot rods a bit to allow the legs to sit at the right angle , I realise this will probably make them a loose fit , perhaps you could pack the u shaped block with milliput after fitting to take up the slack (once set) and give a more secure fixing, the retraction rod should also strengthen the leg a bit too. Tony

[Gern]

I've had a play around and managed to get the leg upright by gently carving away at the mounting. I suspect I'll have to cut the leg and rotate the bottom bit 'til it's straight then drill and pin the two halves back together to get the wheels facing forwards. I'm a bit reluctant to remove too much of the support mounting. This is a heavy beastie and I'd like to leave the u/c as strong as possible - I don't want it collapsing.

I've no idea where the other end of the support goes 'cos it only reaches about half way to the wing from it's attachment point on the leg! I'll have a look around on the net and see if I can find a picture showing where it's supposed to go.

I suppose most of my frustration is due to my expectations of quality based on the price. I've been looking at some of the fabulous work the other guys have been doing in this SSIG with their ancient Airfix kits and I'm thinking I ought to stop whinging and just get on with it as if mine's just a limited run kit. Same problems to solve but a different frame of mind might make them more acceptable if you see what I mean.

[flyjoe180]

That is entirely understandable Dave. Pay for quality and you expect it to work.

[Ian M]

I bet you will beat this into good shape. Frustration is high when you expect big money quality but get a big pile of problems instead.

Ian M

[Guest]

Despite all the issues you are doing a great job. I wish I could do the same with mine.

[Gern]

I've not been totally idle over the last couple of weeks. Got some more bits done:

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The gun barrels supplied are just straight bits which I could have drilled out - but they're oval not round so I'm replacing them with some brass tube.

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Got the fuselage interior sprayed - not too fussy as it will be very hard to see.

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Main cylinder block. Sprayed with Vallejo Aluminium with a very light wash of AK Track wash.

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Drilled holes under each stub on the ignition harness and fixed thin copper wire in each. The entire harness isn't fixed in place yet, I'm still trying to make sure I get the engine lined up correctly.

Ian - I think you were right when you said the ignition wires would lead to the same place front and back of the cylinders. That's the best guess I've been able to make from all the pictures I've seen so that's where they're going.

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You can see from these pictures that the two parts of the intake ducts don't line up correctly. I don't think that's my fault as there are large locating pins and holes. I've had to cut out a section of the rear piece and remove quite a lot of plastic from the support rib as they were stopping the cylinder block lining up properly with the mounting points. I'm not at all sure why I've had to do this - there's no mention of it in the online builds I've looked at. Anyway, I think the cylinder block now locates properly on the mounting points so problem solved - I hope!

[papa 695]

Nice work Dave

[Ian M]

I don't think that's my fault as there are large locating pins and holes. I've had to cut out a section of the rear piece and remove quite a lot of plastic from the support rib as they were stopping the cylinder block lining up properly with the mounting points.

Hmm odd. I think I would have tried removing the locating pins first and saw how things lined up...

Still, you got it sorted in the end.

Ian M

[Gern]

I hadn't thought of removing the pins, but I've just checked and if I'd done that and moved the intake ducts downwards so the cylinder block fitted properly, then it would have stopped the bottom part of the cowling fitting.

One of the reviews I looked at said something about changes having to be made to the initial production kit - mainly instructions. I wonder if I've maybe got an early version. I don't know, and at this stage, I don't care. I'm just lurching from one problem to the next hoping I'll not find anything beyond my ability to cope.